The Supreme CourtOf the United States

•The Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation.

•Its decisions are final and cannot be appealed, or heard again.

What cases does the Supreme Court review?

• Most cases reviewed by the Supreme Court come from a special appeals court.

• The Supreme Court may also hear cases brought from a district court.

• In order for a case to come before the Supreme Court someone has to challenge the law involved in a case.

• Sometimes the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction, they are the first to hear the case.This happens when a state is a party in a case, or when a minister or ambassador is involved in the case

How Does the Supreme Court Work?

•The Supreme Court decides whether to review a case it has received

•If a case is heard, the court decides about the law involved; it rules whether the law follows the Constitution or not

•If a law is ruled unconstitutional, it is no longer used.

Supreme Court Justices

• The president appoints the Supreme Court justices for life; however, the Senate must approve these appointments

• A justice may serve as long as he or she feels able to do so.

• If they are accused of wrongdoing, they may be impeached, or brought to trial by Congress.

• There are nine justices, or judges, on the Supreme Court, including a chief justice and eight associate justices

What Happens During Supreme Court Sessions?

• The Supreme Court works in Washington, D.C.

• Its term, or period of work, begins the first Monday in October each year and usually continues until late June or July

• The lawyers provide the justices with briefs about the cases

• For the first two weeks, the justices hold public sessions where lawyers present the facts of their cases.

• For the next two weeks, the justices study the facts of the cases; this is called a recess.

• For the rest of the term, the justices follow this pattern of sessions and recesses

Supreme Court Proceedings….

• The decisions made in the Supreme Court are reached by a majority vote of the nine justices.

• After the court has voted, it writes an opinion, which is a carefully worded statement that explains why the decision was made

• These opinions are published in a series of books titled United States Reports

•Challenge: to question the truth of something

•Jurisdiction: the power and right to interpret and apply the law

•Brief: a short statement of the facts and points of law of the case

Vocabulary Checkpoint…

Judicial Review, Restraint, and Activism• The Supreme Court uses judicial review to interpret the

Constitution

• Under judicial review, the court can declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments unconstitutional

• Before 1953, the Supreme Court followed a policy of judicial restraint, a policy that the US courts did not get involved with questions related to politics or social issues

• From 1953 to 1969, the Supreme Court often practiced judicial activism. This meant that the Supreme Court should not shape social and political issues.

Can Supreme Court Decisions Change the Constitution?

• YES, the Supreme Court has the power to change the Constitution

• Example: In 1895, the Supreme Court ruled that income taxes were unconstitutional because they did not come evenly, were not apportioned, from each state. As a result of this decision, the 16th Amendment was written that states that Congress was allowed to tax incomes without apportionment among the states.

Are Supreme Court Decisions Ever Changed?

Example:• many southern states in the

1880s had segregated schools, separate schools based on color

• Some people found this to be in violation of the 14th amendment

• The Supreme Court heard the case and found that segregation was not unconstitutional, the schools were equal, but separate.

• Then, in 1954 another case came before the Supreme Court

• It argued that schools for white students were better equipped and therefore, not equal to the schools for black children.

• In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were illegal because they did not follow the equality stated in the 14th Amendment.

The Supreme Court can make a decision that is opposite of an earlier decision

REVIEW

Word Bank

Eight

Highest

Senate

Opinion

unconstitutional

• The Supreme Court is the ______court in the nation.

• The Supreme Court may decide that a law is________.

• There are ____ associate justices on the Supreme Court.

• The _____must approve an appointment of a Supreme Court justice.

• An______ is a carefully worded statement that explains why a decision on a court case was made.